There was a disjointed start to the weekend’s action in China on Friday morning as wet and misty weather conditions led to several stoppages and very limited running. Only 10 cars had either completed or started an installation lap when the session was red flagged for the first time - a result of the medical helicopter being unable to land at the designated hospital in Shanghai.

Running resumed after a 40-minute delay, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen comfortably the fastest of the 14 drivers to set a time.

But before anyone had the chance to beat the Dutchman’s time, the session was red flagged again, this time because weather conditions had forced the closure of the local airport.

Shortly before the stoppage Nico Hulkenberg had beached his Renault in the gravel at Turn 3 following a spin, but thankfully for the German, an early end to proceedings meant it mattered little.

Haas's Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean also had early spins, although both managed to return to the circuit without damage.

With no driver clocking more than eight laps though, all of the teams will be anxious for weather conditions to improve so that they can clock up some decent mileage in FP2.